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Residents worry after finding used needles where kids, dog play

May 2, 2017 | 3:46 PM

 

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Some residents are frustrated, saying the increase in drug use inside the city is becoming more visible.

Used needles have been found in public parks, even in residential areas, places where families and their pets play.

“When I first moved here 12 years ago, it was a clean city,” said Michelle Melton. “You wouldn’t really think of even finding something like that here.”

Melton said it was just a few weeks ago when she found a needle with a bright orange cap hidden away in some bushes in the park at the bottom on Scholten Hill.

“I grew up in Regina, it’s a common occurrence there,” she said. “We were taught at a young age about needle safety, so it caught my eye.”

Melton meets with other moms to walk the trail under the bridge and back again.

“A bunch of us moms put our kids in the strollers,” she said. “Lots of time we bring our dogs along with us and we just go our on these paths and walk and enjoy the fresh air and get some exercise.”

Just last week, Melton said she found another syringe. It was in plain sight and without a cap, leaving the sharp needle exposed.

Melton said she worries about the safety of others.

“For dogs that are running around loose, our children that aren’t in the strollers, us if we step on them in sandals,” she said. “It’s just scary.”

“We’ve seen an increase in drug abuse in the city and with that, unfortunately, sharps can be present as well,” said Inspector Joe West, who said it’s concerning, knowing that there are resources out there to properly dispose of needles and to think that they’re not being used.

“Some pharmacies will take them and there’s a number of different venues for people to properly dispose of needles so it’s very alarming that we’d find them in those places,” West said. “We all know heroin is generally used with a hypodermic needle, but there’s a whole variety of drugs, both illegal and legal, that can be dissolved into liquid form and injected.”

Melton knows just how dangerous used syringes can be and said her kids know what to do, and what not to do, if they find one.

“My kids are educated in safety,” she said. “Get a grown up and definitely don’t touch it, don’t kick it, don’t do anything with it.”

West said if you’re unsure, call police.

“If people do come across a needle and aren’t sure what to do with it, they can certainly call the police service and we’ll send out bylaw or an officer to collect the needle,” he said. “Our officers and all of our bylaw officers have proper disposal containers in their vehicles.”